Phoenix pawed the icy ground; it had been two days since she had had a decent meal and she was craving a decent rabbit or snow partridge. Though Lady Katie generously allowed her scraps, she much preferred fresh meat that she had caught herself. Suddenly the blissful scent of rabbit hit her nostrils. She straightened her form, perked up her ears and engaged all of her senses in the hunt. As she carefully made her way over the hard packed snow, she caught a whiff of something quite different. But a growl from her stomach pulled her back into the moment. She inched closer to the rabbit which was busy burrowing in a mound of snow.
Then, she lunged, spearing her entire head into the snow bank, and her powerful jaws clamped down on the neck of the rodent. She maintained her grip and pulled herself out, giving the prey a quick shake to ensure its death. She tossed it on the ground and shook the snow out of her thick black and golden coat.
As she stepped up to her kill a deep growl that was definitely not from her stomach made her pause. She looked up. Across from the rabbit was the biggest wolf she had ever seen. Though she was often considered quite large in King's Landing, she had nothing on this beast. His fur was pure white, just like snow surrounding them, but his eyes glowed red, as though infused with fire. Her instincts made her want to drop to her belly and submit to this alpha male, but her training under Lady Katie's tutelage had taught her otherwise. She was helper to the noblest lady in the Seven Kingdoms, and the gods be damned if she would submit to any but her mistress.
She continued toward the rabbit, cautiously though, as she knew that it would take only one good lunge from this beast to take her down. Just before she reached it, he growled again, deeper and louder. She glanced up at him, defiance blazing through her eyes. She let rip a ferocious growl right back at him.
He stepped back and cocked his head. She snarled at him and snapped. He sat down on his haunches and simply looked at her. She moved in on her kill and began to tear into it. The hot, red flesh satiated her hunger quite rapidly. But as she was consumed with eating, his whine broke through her concentration. He looked at her, pleading for a morsel. Now it was her turn to cock her head. Was he really begging her? This magnificent wolf was begging her for a scrap of meat?
A smug, satisfied look took over her face. She tore a piece of meat from the carcass and tossed it over to him. He readily gobbled it up, enjoying every bit. He began inching forward, clearly looking for more. Phoenix barked at him, just once as a warning. He halted and remained waiting for her. She tore him another piece and tossed it to him. After consuming it, he began to move closer. She barked again and he stopped. For a third time, she gave him a part of her kill, but it was at this moment that she realised that it was all gone. She looked up at him and barked as she took off running to the forest, and he followed.
For three days Ghost and Phoenix ran together, hunted together, slept together, and were each other's companions. But on the morning of the fourth day, Phoenix heard the horn which was used to call her home. She knew that a beast such as Ghost would never be permitted in her Lady's court. As she began to run in the direction of the horn, Ghost followed her. She turned around and barked at him, which made him pause. She barked again and he sat down, awaiting her orders. She barked once more, which caused him to lie down. Though it pained her to leave him behind, she knew she must. Turning around, she ran as fast as she could away from him, but as she ran, his howl resounded through the trees and reached as far as Lady Katie's camp.
When Phoenix broke through the undergrowth into the campsite, she was panting quite heavily. She made her way to her mistress, who seemed quite worried about her. "Phee, where have you been," Lady Katie asked. "There are wolves out there! I'm glad to see you're safe, but we must press on, back to the south. As the Starks are so fond of saying, 'Winter is coming!'"